The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Nov 2011
Interview
Headhunted by in-house recruiter. Had brief conversation and then phone interview with hiring manager within a week. Then another phone interview within a week after that. Then came in for all day interviews with 8 people, 6 1:1 and 1 2:1. Was asked he usual background and project/program management questions. Was also asked when I last coded, what languages and so on. I had to design IT processes, database design etc. Was also asked to design an algorithm for finding the longest palindrome in a string of characters and how I would fix the US economy. People were generally nice but the process was grueling. Easily the hardest series of interviews in 20+ years in IT.
Generally things seemed to go well but a few days later they called to say they weren't moving forward but I got no explanation at all as to why which was unsatisfying after the process.
El proceso es largo, en total son en promedio 7 entrevistas, de las cuales 5 son en loop, lo que significa que estas 5 entrevistas pueden ser el mismo dia, una tras otra, de una hora cada una
Followed the same Amazon process intial meeting with a recruiter, then multiple rounds with various team members, and the hiring manager. They use the STAR method or variations to answer with the situation, the challenge you faced, then the actions you take, and the result. If you don't use that format, you will not get positive feedback from the interviewer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions around handling difficult situations or how to handle disagreements within the team were a common theme.
I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (Los Angeles, CA) in Jan 2026
Interview
Recruiter screening friendly. Consistently great experiences with recruiters. Got HM interview but HM didn't do the interview. Guy who did lacked the background to assess my background in AI/ML. Amazon is now kicking people out of ATS for 6 months for related roles if you don't progress.